Apparatus for the extinguishment of fire



`April 24, 1934. F. l.. BOYD APPARATUS FOR THE EXTINGUISHMENT OF FIRE 3Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 28, 1929 NVE/vra@ F75/zer .oya/

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April 24, 1934. F L BOYD 1,956,310

APPARATUS FOR THE EXTINGUISHMENT OF FIRE Filed March 28, 1929 5Sheets-Sheet 2 April 24, 1934. F, BOYD 1,956,310

APPARATUS FOR THE EXTINGUISHMENT OF FIRE y Filed March 28, 1929 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 24, 1934 APPARATUS Fon THE EXTINGUISHMEN'Ti oF FIRE Fisher L. Boyd, Haverford, Pa., assigpr to National FoamSystem, Inc., Philadelphia,'la., a

corporation of Delaware 'Application-Maren 2s, 1929, serial No. 350,4501 claim. (c1, 15e-15) My invention relates to meansfor .extinguishingnre, and it has particular relation to apparatus foam.

Such an apparatus, for example, is shown in my co-pending applicationfor'Letters Patent of the United States Serial No. 199,277, led June 16,1927. In that apparatus, different substances are introduced intoseparate flowing streams of water wherein they are dissolved. Upon theuniting of said streams, chemical reaction between the substances insolution takes place to produce a nre-extinguishing foam. Such u nion'ofthe streams and the resultant chemical reaction should take place at apoint in proximity to the place of application of the foam. Thesubstances employed may and actually do consist of aluminum sulphate andbicarbonate of soda, together with a suitable stabilizing agent.'

One object of my invention vis to provide, inv

apparatus of this kind, a storage chamber having a dry foam-producingsubstance, in combination with means whereby said storage chamber may beeasily and quickly moved from a distant position to one which is in'discharging relation to the hoppers of the foam-producing apparatus.Such arrangement does away with the necessity for manually pouring thechemicals into the said `hoppers and it also makes possible theoperation of the equipment by one man.

With these and other objects and applications in mind, my inventionfurther consists in the de- .tails of construction and operation andarrangement, hereinafter described and claimedand illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein,-

Flgs. 1 and 2 are side and end elevational views, respectively, offire-extinguishing apparatus embodying my invention, one of the movablestorage chambers being shown directly over the hoppers of thefoam-producing apparatus, with the valves thereof in the open position;

Figs. 3 and i are enlarged, detail, side and end elevational views,respectively, of the storage chamber with its associated valvemechanism;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of the valve mechanism,showing the valve in its open position, permitting the passage ofmaterial from the storage chamber into one of the hoppers;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the valve closed; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged, detail, vertical sectional view of the valvemechanism, showing the valve closed.

for the production of `lire-extinguishing Referring to Figs. l and 2, apipe or conduit a is provided for supplying waterfrom a source (notshown) through a Y-connection b to a pair of conduits 1 and 2. Theconduits 1 and 2 may be united at a distant point (not shown), which isAin proximity to the place of application of the fire-extinguishingfoam. A valve 3 is provided in the pipe a for controlling the flow offluid therethrough and through the pipes or conduits 1 and 2. 'Iheconduits 1 and 2 are connected through valves 4 to a pair of hoppers5and 6, respec-. tively, which are adapted to receive the foamproducingsubstances, all as is set forth in my co-pending application aforesaid.

In accordance with my invention, the foamproducing materials for thehoppers 5 and 6 are stored in a large chamber' or casing 7 which issupported by a trolley structure 8 -traveling Aon' I an overhead track9. The track 9 may extend from a. distant storage point (not shown), andit is so positioned with respect to the hoppers 5 and 6 that the casing7'may be moved directly over said hoppers so as to be in dischargingvrelation with respect thereto. Fig. 1 shows one storage chamber 7 inthe act of discharging its contents into the hoppers 5 and 6, with asecond storage chamber close by ready to be :moved into the position ofthe rst storage chamber 7. Such arrangement eliminates the necessity forthe manual pouring of the chemicals, as has heretofore been thepractice, and it further simplies the control of the equipment as afwhole, since only one man is necessary for the successful operationthereof. y

Referring further tothe storage chamber 7 it is divided by a centralpartition 11 into separate sections 12 and 13 in which the differentfoam-producingsubstances may be stored. 'Ihe lower ends of thesechambers terminate in funnel sections 14 and 15 having outlet openings16 which are respectively controlled by slide valves 17 and 18. Thevalves 17 and 18 are respectively connected by links 19 to arms 21rigidly mounted on shafts 22 journaled in bearings 23. Each of thebearings 23 is formedby bending an intermediate portion of a strapmember around the shafts 22. The end portions 24 and 25 of each of thestrap members are welded or otherwise secured to the casings. The shafts22 may be operated by a common hand lever 26 comprising a pair of straps27 and 28, the upper ends of which are bolted together to form thehandle.r The lower ends of the straps 27 and 28 are respectivelyprovided with hub portions 29 and 3L which are rigidly secured to theshafts 22, so that when the hand lever 26 is moved from the positionshown in Fig. 3V to the position shown Ain Fig. l, the valves 17 and 18are actuated fromtheir closed position to their open position, as'

will appear hereinafter in greater detail.

Inasmuch as the structure of the valves 17.

lopening 16 of the casing section 14. The ring 34 is provided withabeveled lower side 38, as

-shown in Fig. 6,v forming an inclined seat for a correspondinglybeveled upper" side 39 oa plate 41 forming the valve 1,7. The upper side39 may be provided with a circularrecess V42- which is adapted toreceive a sealing ring 43 of lead or similar material positioned insliding engagement with the seat 38.

The valve plate 4l may be supported on a base plate 44, an upper side 45of which constitutes a lower seat for said valve plate 41. The baseplate 44 is also provided with an aperture 46 which registers with theopeningv 37.in the upper ring member 34. The valve 41 may be guidedduring 'the movement caused by the swinging of the hand lever 26-in4 themanner shown in Figs. 5 and 6, vwherein it is noted that longitudinalside edges 47 and 48 of the valve plate 41 are interlccked with' grooves49 and 51, respectively, formed in the base plate 44, so as to prevent arelative vertical movement between the valve plate 41 and the base plate44 while permitting a relativelongltudinal sliding movement,

such as occurs when the valve plate 41 is moved from the position shownin Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6, A V

The bottom plate 44 maybe resiliently supported by means of a pluralityof devices 52, each of which comprises a bolt 53'which extends up-ywardly through the plate 44 and a-horizontal projection 54 on the upperring member 34. The

' bolt 53 terminates in a threaded portion 55 having a nut 56 mountedthereon, which is positioned in spaced relation to the projection 54 soas to A washer 58V may be positioned between the upper end of thereceive therebetween aspring 57.

spring 57 and the adjustable nut 56. The combined force of the severalsprings is such as to hold the valve plate 4l tightly in engagement withthe upper and lower valve seats 39 and 45 when the valve plate 41 isinthe closed position shown in Fig. 6. When the valve plate 41 is- 'movedfrom its closed position between the valve seats 39 and 45, theV lowerplate 44 moves upwardly under the force of the springs 5 7 a slightamount, which is determined by the thickness cf one or more washers 59positioned between the extensions 54 of the upper ring 34 and the upperside of the base plate 44.

Y In operation, when it is desired to nil the hoppers 5 and 6, one ofthe storage chambers 7 is moved on the overhead track 9 until thedischarge outlets 16 thereof are directly over the hoppers 5 and 6. Thevalve-operating member 26 is then moved from its upper position shown inFE. 3 to the lower position shown in Fig. 1. Such movement actuates eachofthe valves 17, 18 from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown inFig. 5. When it is desired to remove an empty storage chamber 7-so as tomake room for a new one, the hand lever 26 is raised -into a verticalposition, so as to close the valves 17 `and 18. The introduction of thechemicals fromV the hoppers 5 and 6 into the conduits 1 andl 2 may becontrolled by the valves 4, as set forth' in my aforesaid application.

While I have shown only one form of embodiment of my invention, for thepurpose of de-v scribing the same and illustrating its principles ofconstruction and of operation, it is apparent;A that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit ofmy'invention. I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall beimposed thereon as are indicated in the appended claim or as are devmanded by the prior art. Having 'thus described my invention, what Iclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patentfis:

YIn a system for extinguishing lires, in combif nation, a dual containerfor receiving in separated relation dry foam-forming ingredients capableupon reacting with each other in the pre'sence of a solvent to producefoam; a foam producingand ejecting apparatus lincluding a dual hopperfor separately receiving and introducing said ingredients vinto aflowing stream of wa` 120A ter; a continuous elevated track extendingfrom a point above saidapparatus to a point removed therefrom, means forsuspending said dual container from saidtrack for movement there-.-

along, said dual container being provided with separate dischargeopenings through" which said vingredients are 'separately discharged;and means for simultaneously eiecting the separatedischarge ofsaidingredients from said container into said hopper when the former is:moved into discharging relation with'respect to the latter.

Piensan BOYD. f

